The Human Development Center’s Post-Secondary Apprenticeship for Youth (PAY Check) provides transition services for young adults with disabilities by providing comprehensive pathways to quality employment.
Read more >As a Transition Specialist, Carmel Polk helps PAY Check participants transition to life after high school by teaching them community and work-related skills that are crucial for independent life. PAY Check’s mission to nurture young people’s abilities for full community participation is what attracted Carmel to the position.
It is important that we ensure students have the tools and skills to live independently in society. We want young people to be the best version of themselves in every capacity.
– Carmel Polk, MS, CESP
PAY Check interns from Jefferson Parish were featured on WGNO this week. They are learning Italian family secrets from Metairie’s finest chef, Chef Andrea Apuzzo, in a paid internship. Watch the full video here:
Each March, we join the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACCD) to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. This social media campaign, known as “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month” or #DDawareness2021, seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still face in connecting to the communities in which they live.
Each March, we join the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACCD) to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. This social media campaign, known as “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month” or #DDawareness2021, seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still face in connecting to the communities in which they live.
Jordan began his first semester with the PAY Check program in January 2018. Prior to enrolling in our pilot, Jordan was receiving instruction in a self-contained classroom with four to ten other students. When he arrived at Delgado Community College in January, he was intimidated by the Delgado workload. This was the first time Jordan had done work outside of class.
Jordan has put in the effort to step outside his comfort zone and his hard work is paying off. Currently, Jordan is thriving in a fully-inclusive program and taking college level classes. On his most recent midterm he received a 94% and his GPA is now 3.14! Jordan is proud of his progress and the Pay Check Specialists are all very proud to see Jordan’s growth in just a few short months.
LSUHSC Human Development Center PAY Check nominated the UMC-New Orleans for the Governor’s Outstanding Leadership in Disabilities (GOLD) Employer of the Year award because of their disability employment initiative which most recently included the LSU Health Human Development Center Postsecondary Apprenticeship Pilot for Youth (Pay Check). The PAY Check pilot is an innovative collaboration between the LSUHSC-Human Development Center (HDC), Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, Delgado Community College, two public school systems, one public Charter school association, and the University Medical Center-New Orleans (UMC-NO). Pay Check is a 3-5 semester program wherein students select courses at Delgado Community College related to UMC targeted apprenticeship areas, participate in professional career development activities, learn community and work skills, and gain employment experience through a paid apprenticeship at the University Medical Center. On November 15, 2017, at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, PAY Check counselor Rebecca Ellis presented the GOLD Employer of the Year Award to Cathy J. Lazarus, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at LSU School of Medicine and Chief Academic Officer at UMC-NO.
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